The objectives of this project are to purify, characterize, and study the activities of pertussigen, a substance from Bordetella pertussis. We developed methods to extract and purify pertussigen in sufficient quantities for characterizing the material. By using Triton X-100, BioGel A.5 and ultracentrifugation in glycerol gradients, good yields of highly pure pertussigen were obtained. The mechanism by which pertussigen increases the production of IgE antibodies to hens' egg albumin is under study. The approach employed is to expose mice to pertussigen to see if it has a direct effect on cells involved in the immune response. The response assay involves transfer of lymphoid cells to X-irradiated recipients, which are then primed with antigen. Spleen cells from pertussigen-treated mice produced IgE in recipient mouse primed with an antigen while spleen cells from normal animals did not. The effect of pertussigen on insulin production and the effect of growing B. pertussis cells in media with high Mg on the various biologic activities are also under study.